The present invention relates to the use of the Lotus plant and especially the Lotus seed extract in topical compositions for application to the skin to enhance the appearance thereof.
Within the dermis are highly stable fibers of collagen and elastin. Collagen, the most abundant protein in the body, has a high tensile strength thus preventing skin from being torn by over stretching. Elastin, also a protein, allows movement. As skin ages elastic tissue increases but it loses the ability to stretch and recover. This loss of resiliency and elasticity is accompanied by increased stiffness, sagging and wrinkling. Changes in collagen solubility and cross-linking contribute to loss of elasticity.
On the cellular level, aspartyl and isoaspartyl residues are prominent sites of age related damage in proteins. These damaged sites have been characterized in a variety of proteins, but are particularly common in the long-lived proteins. Enzymatic mechanisms for reversing damage to DNA are well established and have been shown to be essential for expanded lifespan.
Experiments performed in vitro with recombinant and chemically modified polypeptides have shown that the presence of an L-isoaspartyl residue may alter both enzymatic activity and the binding of other molecules.
Limiting the accumulation of these residues within cells is currently believed to be important; all human cells examined thus far contain an L-isoaspartyl/D-aspartyl protein methyltransferase that has been proposed to serve this function. It is also believed that this methyltransferase can recognize both D-aspartyl and L-isoaspartyl residues. In addition, it is thought that this enzyme may have the ability to reverse at least part of the damage to protein molecules.
Although the human isoaspartyl protein repair methyltranseferase has been purified from red blood cells and had its protein sequence determined, in addition to harvesting a variant in a bacterial system, the availability and use of methyltransferase has been limited.
On or around Nov. 14, 1995, however, it was reported that scientists germinated a 1,288 year old Sacred Lotus seed. The research reported in the November issue of the American Journal of Botany, began in 1982, when Jane Shen-Miller, a plant physiologist at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), obtained seven brown, oval-shaped Sacred Lotus seeds from the Beijing Institute of Botany.
In 1983, Jane Shen-Miller filed through the hard shells of four of the ancient Sacred Lotus seeds and watched three of them sprout. She then dried and burned the seedlings so she could use radiocarbon dating to establish the ages, the oldest of which was 1,288 years old.
According to the November, 1995 report, one of those ancient Sacred Lotus seeds had been in the ground for over 1,200 years; it therefore has been postulated that the Sacred Lotus seeds act as embryos that posses anti-aging properties. Up until this point, geneticists knew only about proteins that repaired damaged DNA. But findings have suggested that the L-isoaspartyl methyltransferase (MT) enzyme, found in the Sacred Lotus seeds and nearly all other organisms, may have the ability to repair other proteinsxe2x80x94those that make up cells and tissues, thus slowing tissue decay.
In these ancient Sacred Lotus seeds, the MT enzyme was present at levels comparable to modern day Sacred Lotus seeds. Damaged proteins did not accumulate within the ancient Sacred Lotus seeds, suggesting that the MT enzyme, possibly along with other constituents, kept the ancient Sacred Lotus seeds alive for so many years.
Notwithstanding the above, it is unknown as to whether use of methyltransferase or extracts or components of the Sacred Lotus plant in topical or oral compositions would be effective in combating aging, repairing damaged skin and/or restoring skin to a more youthful appearance. Moreover, there are no known acceptable products available which incorporate methyltransferase or extracts or components of the Sacred Lotus for combating dermatological aging, repairing damaged skin and/or restoring skin to a more youthful appearance.
Consequently, there exists a need for acceptable delivery systems which incorporate methyltransferase or extracts or components of the Sacred Lotus plant for effectively treating and preventing aging, and repairing damaged skin and restoring skin to a more youthful appearance.
In brief, the present invention alleviates and overcomes certain of the above mentioned problems and shortcomings of the present state of the art through the discovery of novel acceptable delivery systems which embody methyltransferase or extracts or components of the Sacred Lotus plant for effectively treating and preventing aging, repairing damaged skin and restoring skin to a more youthful appearance and methods of using same.
Accordingly it is the object of the invention to provide a general method for prevention or alleviation of damage to the skin associated with aging through the topical use of methyltransferase in combination with a suitable carrier or vehicle.
Another object is to restore the skin to a more youthful appearance.
Another object is to use the extract of the Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo Nucifera) seed or as a natural source of methyltransferase. It has now been observed, surprisingly and unexpectedly, that by using an extract of the Sacred Lotus seed by topical administration as an active agent, signs of aging can be reduced, eliminated or even reversed.
Another object is to add Sacred Lotus seed extract to existing cosmetic preparations or to use it by itself to reduce the appearances of lines and wrinkles.
Another object is to enhance a cosmetic composition to make the skin appear younger by adding an extract of Lotus seed.
Also until the present invention there were no acceptable vehicles utilizing methyltransferase from a natural source such as lotus seeds and its other natural components in an elegant cosmetic and/or basic pharmaceutical composition and/or dietary formulation. Thus another object of the present invention are formulations of Sacred Lotus seed in dermatologicals, such as lotions, creams, sunscreens, cleansers, and various skin care formulas to improve the youthful appearance of the skin, repair visible damage, and reduce the signs of aging including loss of elasticity, fine lines, wrinkles, blemishes,
A suitable carrier or vehicle will include the formulation of creams, gels, lotions, powders, tablets, capsules, and liquid preparations for the skin to repair damage from aging, reduce further damage and restore skin to a more youthful appearance.
These and other objects are achieved by the present invention which is directed to topical formulation for the protection of the skin against damage caused by aging and a method for preventing or alleviating such damage and restoring it to a more youthful appearance by employing such in a topical formulation.
The formulation is a suitable cosmetic or dermatologically acceptable non-toxic, non-allergenic carrier containing methyltransferase and other components of the seed or of the Sacred Lotus plant.
The above features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood with reference to the accompanying FIGS., detailed description and examples. It should also be understood that the particular methods and formulations illustrating the present invention are exemplary only and not to be regarded as limitations of the present invention.